Polar-Region Soils as Novel Reservoir of Lactic Acid Bacteria from the Genus .

Polar habitats offer excellent sites to isolate unique bacterial strains due to their diverse physical, geochemical, and biological factors. We hypothesize that the unique environmental conditions of polar regions select for distinct strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) with novel biochemical properties. In this study, we characterized ten strains of psychrotrophic LAB isolated from hitherto poorly described sources-High Arctic and maritime Antarctic soils and soil-like materials, including ornithogenic soils, cryoconites, elephant seal colonies, and postglacial moraines.

Native and Alien Antarctic Grasses as a Habitat for Fungi.

Biological invasions are now seen as one of the main threats to the Antarctic ecosystem. An example of such an invasion is the recent colonization of the H. Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station area by the non-native grass .

Polyhydroxyalkanoate involvement in stress-survival of two psychrophilic bacterial strains from the High Arctic.

An ever-growing body of literature evidences the protective role of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) against a plethora of mostly physical stressors in prokaryotic cells. To date, most of the research done involved bacterial strains isolated from habitats not considered to be life-challenging or extremely impacted by abiotic environmental factors. Polar region microorganisms experience a multitude of damaging factors in combinations rarely seen in other of Earth's environments.

Genetic engineering of low-temperature polyhydroxyalkanoate production by Acidovorax sp. A1169, a psychrophile isolated from a subglacial outflow.

In recent years, extremophilic microorganisms have been employed as producers of the microbial bioplastics polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which are of great biotechnological value. Nevertheless, cold-loving or psychrophilic (cryophilic) bacteria have been neglected in this regard. Here, we present an investigation of the Arctic glacier-derived PHA producer Acidovorax sp.

Bacterial communities of Antarctic lichens explored by gDNA and cDNA 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

Recently, lichens came once more into the scientific spotlight due to their unique relations with prokaryotes. Several temperate region lichen species have been thoroughly explored in this regard yet, the information on Antarctic lichens and their associated bacteriobiomes is somewhat lacking. In this paper, we assessed the phylogenetic structure of the whole and active fractions of bacterial communities housed by Antarctic lichens growing in different environmental conditions by targeted 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing.

sp. nov., isolated from glacial habitats of maritime Antarctica.

Strains P8930 and 478 were isolated from Antarctic glaciers located on James Ross Island and King George Island, respectively. They comprised Gram-stain-negative short rod-shaped cells forming pink pigmented colonies and exhibited identical 16S rRNA gene sequences and highly similar MALDI TOF mass spectra, and hence were assigned as representatives of the same species. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences assigned both isolates to the genus and showed and to be their closest phylogenetic neighbours, with 97.

Root-Associated Bacteria Community Characteristics of Antarctic Plants: Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis-a Comparison.

Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) Bartl. and Deschampsia antarctica Desv. are the only Magnoliophyta to naturally colonize the Antarctic region.

Metabolic fingerprinting of the Antarctic cyanolichen Leptogium puberulum-associated bacterial community (Western Shore of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica).

Lichens are presently regarded as stable biotopes, small ecosystems providing a safe haven for the development of a diverse and numerous microbiome. In this study, we conducted a functional diversity assessment of the microbial community residing on the surface and within the thalli of Leptogium puberulum, a eurytopic cyanolichen endemic to Antarctica, employing the widely used Biolog EcoPlates which test the catabolism of 31 carbon compounds in a colorimetric respiration assay. Lichen thalli occupying moraine ridges of differing age within a proglacial chronosequence, as well as those growing in sites of contrasting nutrient concentrations, were procured from the diverse landscape of the western shore of Admiralty Bay in Maritime Antarctica.

Biodiversity and Habitats of Polar Region Polyhydroxyalkanoic Acid-Producing Bacteria: Bioprospection by Popular Screening Methods.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), the intracellular polymers produced by various microorganisms as carbon and energy storage, are of great technological potential as biodegradable versions of common plastics. PHA-producing microbes are therefore in great demand and a plethora of different environments, especially extreme habitats, have been probed for the presence of PHA-accumulators. However, the polar region has been neglected in this regard, probably due to the low accessibility of the sampling material and unusual cultivation regime.

Biotope and biocenosis of cryoconite hole ecosystems on Ecology Glacier in the maritime Antarctic.

Despite recent great interest in glacier ecosystems in the continental Antarctic, little is known about their maritime counterparts. Our study presents descriptive data on cryoconite sediments and cryoconite holes on Ecology Glacier (King George Island) to accomplish three main objectives: (a) to identify main eukaryotic (algae, invertebrates) and prokaryotic (cyanobacteria) components of microbial communities; (b) to provide a "baseline" of community composition, organic matter and artificial contamination; and (c) to identify key abiotic factors that might be important in community assembly. Cryoconite holes were sampled along an altitudinal gradient of Ecology Glacier in January, mid Austral Summer 2017.

Biogenic synthesis of silica nanoparticles from corn cobs husks. Dependence of the productivity on the method of raw material processing.

Corn processing generates thousands of tons of cob husks, which still contains many valuable elements. To make the most of these wastes, they are applied as substrates for biotransformation's procedures. This approach allowed converting or releasing, the elements deposited in the plant material and obtaining valuable products.

A smelly business: Microbiology of Adélie penguin guano (Point Thomas rookery, Antarctica).

Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) are the most numerous flightless bird group breeding in coastal areas of Maritime and Continental Antarctica. Their activity leaves a mark on the land in the form of large guano deposits. This guano is an important nutrient source for terrestrial habitats of ice-free Antarctic areas, most notably by being the source of ammonia vapors which feed the surrounding grass, lichen and algae communities.

Particle stability and structure on the peritoneal surface in pressurized intra-peritoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) analysed by electron microscopy: First evidence of a new physical concept for PIPAC.

Pressurized intra-peritoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) has been introduced to the clinical setting as a novel approach for the treatment of peritoneal metastasis. The local interaction of chemoaerosol droplets with the peritoneal surface as well as their distribution pattern is considered the main advantage over conventional liquid intraperitoneal chemotherapy. The aim of the present study was to investigate the behavior of these aerosol particles during PIPAC application via electron microscopy.

Effect of Liposomal Doxorubicin in Pressurized Intra-Peritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC).

This study was performed to compare the impact of doxorubicin vs. liposomal doxorubicin on penetration depth in peritoneal tissue during Pressurized Intra-Peritoneal Aerosol Chemotherapy (PIPAC) via microcatheter (MC). Fresh post mortem swine peritoneum was cut into proportional sections.

Antiviral Activity of Tannic Acid Modified Silver Nanoparticles: Potential to Activate Immune Response in Herpes Genitalis.

(1) Background: Tannic acid is a plant-derived polyphenol showing antiviral activity mainly because of an interference with the viral adsorption. In this work, we tested whether the modification of silver nanoparticles with tannic acid (TA-AgNPs) can provide a microbicide with additional adjuvant properties to treat genital herpes infection. (2) Methods: The mouse model of the vaginal herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) infection was used to test immune responses after treatment of the primary infection with TA-AgNPs, and later, after a re-challenge with the virus.

Bacterial cellulose yield increased over 500% by supplementation of medium with vegetable oil.

Bacterial cellulose (BC), produced by Komagataeibacter xylinus, has numerous applications to medicine and industry. A major limitation of BC use is relatively low production rates and high culturing media costs. By supplementing culture media with 1% vegetable oil, we achieved BC yield exceeding 500% over the yield obtained in standard media.

Plasmids of Psychrotolerant spp. Isolated From Arctic and Antarctic Glaciers - Diversity and Role in Adaptation to Polar Environments.

Cold-active bacteria of the genus (class ) are important components of glacial microbiomes. In this study, extrachromosomal replicons of 26 psychrotolerant strains, isolated from Arctic and Antarctic glaciers, were identified, sequenced, and characterized. The plasmidome of these strains consists of 13 replicons, ranging in size from 3,378 to 101,077 bp.

Nanosilica synthesis mediated by Aspergillus parasiticus strain.

Rice husks (RHs) are plant waste materials abundant in phytoliths silica bodies. These were used as starting material for fungal-mediated biotransformation leading to the synthesis of a high-value added product. A strain of Aspergillus parasiticus was capable of transforming the amorphous silica conglomerates into structured nanoparticles (NPs) in the process of RHs biotransformation.

Modification of Bacterial Cellulose with Quaternary Ammonium Compounds Based on Fatty Acids and Amino Acids and the Effect on Antimicrobial Activity.

In the present work, bacterial cellulose (BC) membranes have been modified with bioactive compounds based on long chain dimer of C18 linoleic acid, referred to as the dilinoleic acid (DLA) and tyrosine (Tyr), a natural amino acid capable of forming noncovalent cation-π interactions with positively charged ethylene diamine (EDA). This new compound, [EDA][DLA-Tyr], has been synthesized by simple coupling reaction, and its chemical structure was characterized by H NMR and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity of a new compound against S.

αII-spectrin in T cells is involved in the regulation of cell-cell contact leading to immunological synapse formation?

T-lymphocyte activation after antigen presentation to the T-Cell Receptor (TCR) is a critical step in the development of proper immune responses to infection and inflammation. This dynamic process involves reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and signaling molecules at the cell membrane, leading to the formation of the Immunological Synapse (IS). The mechanisms regulating the formation of the IS are not completely understood.

Corrigendum to "Macroautophagy and Selective Mitophagy Ameliorate Chondrogenic Differentiation Potential in Adipose Stem Cells of Equine Metabolic Syndrome: New Findings in the Field of Progenitor Cells Differentiation".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2016/3718468.].

The Impact of Oxidative Stress Factors on the Viability, Senescence, and Methylation Status of Olfactory Bulb-Derived Glial Cells Isolated from Human Cadaver Donors.

The olfactory bulb (OB) is a unique structure in the central nervous system that retains the ability to create new neuronal connections. Glial cells isolated from the OB have been recently considered as a novel and promising tool to establish an effective therapy for central nervous system injuries. Due to the hindered access to autologous tissue for cell isolation, an allogeneic source of tissues obtained postmortem has been proposed.

Antioxidant and Anti-Senescence Effect of Metformin on Mouse Olfactory Ensheathing Cells (mOECs) May Be Associated with Increased Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Levels-An Ex Vivo Study.

Metformin, the popular anti-diabetic drug was shown to exert multiple biological effects. The most recent metformin gained attention as an agent that mobilizes endogenous progenitor cells and enhances regenerative potential of organisms, for example by promoting neurogenesis. In the present study, we examined the role of metformin on mouse olfactory ensheathing cells (mOECs) derived from animals receiving metformin for eight weeks at a concentration equal to 2.

Ultrastructural changes during osteogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stromal cells cultured in alginate hydrogel.

Background: Osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells has been extensively investigated with regards to different aspects, including the analysis of cell intracellular and extracellular proteome, cell gene expression pattern, and morphology. During the osteogenic differentiation, osteoblasts produce and release specific proteins, like osteocalcin and osteopontin. Simultaneously, cells produce the extracellular matrix (ECM) that resembles the bone ECM, with high quantity of calcium and phosphorus.